


Age of Innocence

by GrumpyBox



Series: The Loss Of Bliss [2]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Rescue Bots, Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Genre: Angst, Emotional, Gen, M/M, Other, Prepare to Feel, feeling overload, ill add more tags later, slag will go down, this will be VERY angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-04-23 13:19:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14333292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpyBox/pseuds/GrumpyBox
Summary: “She is hiding something Ratchet,” Optimus said after a long time.“Yes,” Ratchet sighed, “she is hiding something.”Ratchet and Optimus thought raising a human child would be an easy endeavor. That was before their daughter tried to find the truth about what happened to her mother and how she ended up in the Autobots care.A continuation of "Loss of Bliss" that can be read as a stand-alone fic.





	1. Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> So previously in the prior fic, a young woman named Jade found herself at the mercy of the Decepticons after repairing a damaged Starscream. She was saved by Team Prime, however, the group found it difficult to get past her distant and somewhat unfriendly demeanor. It turned out, Jade was a part of a gang of intergalactic tech smugglers called GAID. Jade had a daughter named Helena and left the gang in hopes of living a better life. Sadly her past caught up with her when the Decepticons kidnapped one of GAID’s leaders and asked for Jade in return. Despite Team Prime’s efforts, Jade was lost in the battle against the Decepticons and they have been raising her daughter ever since….
> 
> Or at least, they thought she was lost.

Helena was hiding something. Ratchet had been around the girl long enough to know when she was up to no good. If the twinkle in her deep blue eyes were any indication, he was certain that whatever Helena was hiding was big. He, Optimus, and the rest of Team prime along with their human allies had done their best to raise Helena since the death of her mother. The years had soared by as the three year old toddler grew into a sixteen year old girl. Ratchet, despite his initial distaste for humans after meeting Raf,Jack,and Miko, had grown deeply attached to the small toddler that always referred to him as her knight. Ratchet had dropped her off on her first day of preschool using a holoform projector he had borrowed from one of the allied bases(no there wasn’t any lubricant in his optics it was just dirt), her first day of middle school, her first slumber party (no that wasn’t him parked outside of the house it was a different ambulance), her first dance, her first day of high school, her first everything. If Helena was in distress he knew, if Helena was sick he knew, if Helena had just been dumped by a boy (he always said boys were no good unless they looked like Rafael and could perform complex arithmetic equations) he knew. Ratchet knew everything about Helena, what he didn’t know was why she was hiding something from him.

 

Ratchet watched Helena as she began to button and unbutton the cuff of her blouse. He continued to stare for quite some time until he finally lost his patience. “Alright, spill it sweetspark!” Ratchet gruffed as he turned away from the command module to face the teen. Helena jumped up in surprised and forced the  ~~ fakest ~~ biggest smile she could muster.  

 

“Whatever do you mean _my knight_?” Helena said through gritted teeth.

 

“Don’t ‘knight’ me young lady. What exactly are you hiding?” Ratchet folded his arms and took a stance that Helena knew meant “spill the beans now or face my wrench”. Helena, however, was a stubborn girl (she had been raised by Ratchet and Optimus Prime after all) and simply smiled further at the medic. The two engaged in a battle, Ratchet’s engines revving irritably and Helena continuing to force a smile, that was only broken by the sudden entrance of Optimus Prime through the groundbridge with a young blond haired boy and African American girl Helena knew all too well.

 

“Cody! Frankie!” Helena moved from her place near Ratchet’s command module to the other teens.

 

“Hey there Helena. What’s the fancy get up for? You know it’s only us coming through, right?” Cody exclaimed as he hugged the young girl. Cody and Frankie both viewed Helena as a younger sister. They had been introduced to Helena when she was about 12. The meeting itself was purely accidental. The Decepticons had learned of the unarmed Autobot allies living on Griffon rock and attacked the small island during one of their many festivals. The townspeople immediately went into a panic, and Optimus Prime had bridged to Griffon Rock to stop the attack. Helena, having taken notes from Miko, slipped behind the Prime undetected and attempted to get an up-close and personal view of her adoptive father in action. It wasn’t until a high pitched shrieking began ringing through the air that anyone knew of her presence. A vehicon had found her hiding spot behind a boulder and lowered the barrel of his blaster level to her small body. In that moment, Cody did the impossible and pulled her away split seconds before the blinding light of its blaster turned the boulder into ash. Optimus ripped the vehicon’s head clean off afterwards. His vision became bleary as he scanned the ashes hoping that some remnant of his child had been left behind. “She’s right here Optimus!” Optimus Prime whipped his helm around to the source of the call and gasped at the sight of his beloved child, intact but shaking, in Cody’s arms. Helena received the scolding of a lifetime from Ratchet after the incident, however, that day began a lifelong friendship between her and the Autobot team of Griffon Rock.

  
  


“How was your day today sweetspark?” Optimus asked as he dropped to one knee near the group of teens.

 

“It was good Opti, and it just got a whole lot better now that Cody and Frankie are here!” Helena squeezed the two teens tighter before releasing them from her heart-melting hug. “How was yours? Was there any trouble on the way over?” Optimus picked up on the faint sound of distress in her voice and sighed deeply. The trouble she was referring to was the Decepticons. Since Megatron’s failure to cyberform Earth, the Decepticons had become more reckless and dangerous in their methods to destroy the Autobot forces that guarded the planet. Helena always feared for Optimus’ safety whenever he and the rest of Team Prime would fight against the menace, and Optimus’ spark always swelled with sorrow whenever he saw the look on Helena’s face whenever he or another Autobot returned from battle injured. The bots were her family and Optimus was the closest thing to a father she had since she didn’t have human parents.

 

“Do not fret sparkling,” Optimus replied in a deep and calming tone. “Although the Decepticons have been pursuing us more fervently as of late, we believe it is only because they are growing more desperate and weak. Soon this war will come to an end, I am certain of it.”

 

“I hope so Opti,” Helena murmured as she toyed with one of her curls nervously. Suddenly, Helena perked up again and grabbed the wrists of her two friends. “ I have something I really want to show you guys!” Helena exclaimed.

 

“Let me guess,” replied Frankie with a smug grin on her face. “We need to go back to the ‘castle’?” 

 

Helena nodded her head ecstatically and turned to Ratchet with a smile as bright as the sun. She clasped her hands together tightly and pouted her lower lip at the old mech. The grumpy medic huffed but powered the ground-bridge for the teens (he was powerless against her innocent puppy stare). Helena grabbed Frankie and Cody by the wrist and dragged the older teens through the bright portal before them. Ratchet stared pensively at the ground-bridge even as the swirling green light faded away. He ground his jaw and he grumbled to himself. 

 

“What is the matter old friend?”

 

Ratchet nearly jumped out of his frame when he finally acknowledged the presence of his old friend near him. “Forgive me Optimus,” Ratchet scratched at his vocalizer and shifted his weight between pedes awkwardly, “I was deep in thought.”

 

Optimus hummed to himself. A comfortable silence filled the room between the two mechs. 

 

“She is hiding something Ratchet,” Optimus said after a long time.

 

“Yes,” Ratchet sighed, “she is hiding something.”


	2. The Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody and Frankie go to the castle and learn about the secrets Helena has been hiding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably should have mentioned this beforehand, but this fic can pretty much be read without reading the first one. I recommend reading the first one to get some of the background details concerning things that will happen later on, but it's not necessary. I'll do my best to explain any details from the previous fic.

Ratchet was notorious for how much he spoiled the young girl. The day Helena called Ratchet “her knight” she became the small princess that ruled his world. Of course, what is a princess without a giant castle erected deep in a mystical and secluded forest. The moment Optimus agreed to keeping Helena at the Autobot base, Ratchet immediately began work on the castle. It was a seven-story gothic mansion complete with a moat and drawbridge. The castle, despite its aged exterior, was a technological masterpiece on the inside. Robotic maids and butlers could be found on every floor cleaning and dusting the castle, every room required fingerprint and retina access, there were three game rooms including a VR room, and the castle had a dedicated bowling alley and movie theater. The most important room, however, was in the basement. Ratchet had installed a secret laboratory beneath the castle that housed a command module similar to the one at the base and a groundbridge. The laboratory was built as a backup hideout in case the Decepticons were able to successfully destroy the Autobot bases on Earth. The lab was large enough to hold all of Team Prime, the rescue bots, and at least two other squadrons worth of Cybertronians. Most of the equipment within the lab was manufactured for a Cybertronian, however, Rafael and Graham Burns built a human-sized lab in the far left corner of the room. Although it was a small fraction of the size of the main lab, the smaller laboratory was equipped with almost the same amount of tools. Helena would often invite Frankie over to test equipment and conduct experiments; however, Frankie and Cody knew the moment they entered the laboratory they would not be experimenting today. The two teens had known Helena long enough to realize when something was up. Helena had a mischievous twinkle in her rich blue eyes as she led them toward the Cybertronian section of the lab…. away from the human section.  Helena stopped abruptly and spun around on her heels to face the two teens. 

 

“You can’t tell ANYONE about this okay?” Helena clasped her hands to her chest as she pleaded with the older teens. 

 

“What exactly are you going to show us?” Cody asked tentatively. Cody immediately regretted asking when he saw how Helena began grinning from ear to ear. He shot a nervous glance towards Frankie who was staring at an ominous tarp in the bots corner of the lab. A large ominous tarp. Helena smirked at the two before dramatically pulling away the tarp, revealing two slightly irritated Cybertronians underneath it. Frankie clutched Cody’s arm with so much strength he thought his arm would fall off from the pressure. The two Cybertronians that stood before them looked thoroughly unimpressed with the two teens. Cody and Frankie gawked at them for a solid ten minutes before finally recomposing themselves.

 

“Ar-are they….seekers?” Frankie stammered as she cautiously lifted a finger towards the two mechs. Cody stared at the mechs again and quickly realized that Frankie was indeed correct. The two mechs were seekers or at least some sort of plane. They both had long elegant wings that were raised high in the air pointed towards the ceiling. They each had a yellow cockpit placed in the center of their abdomen, and they had similarly shaped helms. The seeker on the left had a darker faceplate and a purple paint job, while the one on the right had a blue paint job with a pale silver faceplate. The purple one suddenly kneeled down towards the teens and grinned at them with a mischievous fanged smile.

 

“No, I’m a bicycle and my friend Thundercracker over there is a pogo stick.”

 

“There’s no need to be rude Skywarp,” Thundercracker chastised in a monotonous voice.

 

“What! It’s not like our wings gave it away that we’re planes right?”

 

“We must be civil with them. We need to treat them well or else we won’t get an audience with Prime.”

“Optimus,” Cody nearly squeaked as he finally regained his voice. “What do they want with Optimus?”

 

“It’s ok Cody,” Helena smiled unfazed by how Skywarp was precariously leaning over her friends. “They need our help….and I need theirs.”

 

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Frankie said as she maneuvered around the purple seeker. “What exactly is going on here?”

 

“I believe I can explain,” Thundercracker replied. He slowly pulled out a datapad from his subspace and a pair of spectacles.

 

“Oh god not this again,” Skywarp groaned as he rose to his feet. “Get ready for the worst show of your life kids.”

 

“A long long time ago, there existed a trine of seekers on a planet called Cybertron.”

 

“They know what Cybertron is dimwit!”

 

“You’re interrupting my masterpiece Skywarp!”

 

“Enough!” Helena cried as she threw herself between the irate bots. “Primus, if you two can’t do this without fighting then I’ll talk for you.” Helena faced Cody and Frankie, who both now looked more confused than before, and cleared her throat. “Okay, so as we’ve already established these two are seekers….from Cybertron. They were originally a part of a trine, but they got separated from each other during the war. By separated, I mean their trine leader joined the Decepticons and they didn’t.” Helena paused to make sure Cody and Frankie were following before she continued. “They didn’t agree with Megatron and they didn’t exactly ‘fit in’ with the Autobots so they decided to stay neutral. Anyway, when they refused to join the Decepticons their trine leader cut off their bond with them.”

 

“Bond?” Frankie asked as her inquisitive nature began to overshadow her confusion.

 

“Trines are bonded together through their spark,” Thundercracker explained,” it is like having a brother but it’s through comradery rather than a split spark.”

 

“Oh, I see,” Frankie furrowed her brow as she mulled this information over. “It must have hurt then when he cut you off.”

 

“It did,” Skywarp replied, the mischievous glint in his optics had completely faded. He had a distant, melancholy look that seemed out of place on his face. “What hurt more was the distress signal we felt through our bond three weeks ago.” 

 

“Our bond has been sealed for at least a million years now,” Thundercracker continued.“ When it opened up we were ecstatic, but our joy was quickly replaced with fear when we realized that Starscream was calling out to us in agony.”

 

“Starscream!” Cody raced over to Helena and grabbed the young teen by both of her shoulders so that she was directly facing him. “What do they mean by ‘Starscream’?” Helena cowered under the death glare Cody was giving her. Despite the boy’s kind nature, he could be very protective at times and was absolutely terrifying when angered. Right now, Helena couldn’t decipher if Cody was angry, worried, or both.

 

“Well,” Helena tried her best not to make eye contact with Cody, “Starscream is the leader of their trine and-”

 

“What!” Now it was Frankie’s turn to glare at Helena. “Are you insane?! Starscream is Megatron’s second in command. He’s dangerous and furthermore how do you know this isn’t a trap. They’re a part of Starscream’s trine, he could be using them to hurt you or the Autobots.”

 

“If we wanted to hurt her we would have done it by now,” Skywarp scoffed as he leaned against a nearby wall. Thundercracker smacked Skywarp’s shoulder, eliciting a yelp from the purple seeker.

 

“It is not our intention to harm your friend or the Autobots, we simply want to ensure the safety of our trine mate,” Thundercracker stated as he scowled at Skywarp.

 

“How are we supposed to trust you?” Frankie folded her arms tight against her chest.

 

“We can trust them Frankie,” Helena stated calmly. “I saw it in a dream.”

 

“Oh no,” Cody grabbed his head as if a strong migraine had hit him. “We talked about this Helena, I know they feel real but they are just dreams. They don’t mean anything.”

 

“They do mean something Cody,” Helena finally moved out of his grasp. “We were fighting in the desert when something began attacking the Autobots. I saw Starscream helping us, HELPING US! He protected us, shielded us from whoever our attackers were. Clouds of dust began to fill the air making it difficult to see. Then….I heard her. I heard her singing that song, then the green eyes appeared. They pierced through the dust and stared directly at me.”

 

“Then you woke up, just like you always do and realized it was a dream,” Frankie interrupted. 

 

“No,” Helena replied,” not this time. This time the green eyes spoke. They said, ‘my child’.” Helena faced Cody and Frankie with a newfound vigor. The passion that was boiling up inside of her made the two older teens uneasy. They knew where this was going. “I know that my mother is out there,” she continued,” she’s looking for me, she wants to find me.”

 

“Okay….and how exactly do Skywarp and Thundercracker fit into all of this?” Cody asked as he turned his attention towards the seekers in question. Skywarp shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, “Scratch my spinal strut and I scratch yours.”

 

“I’m not following,” Cody gave the seeker a flat stare.

 

“They’re both planes Cody,” Helena said gesturing towards the seekers,” once I help them find Starscream they’ll take me wherever I need to go to find my mother. I know it sounds crazy, but I need to do this. I love Optimus and Ratchet from the deepest parts of my heart, but I know that they’re hiding something from me. Maybe they know my birth mother, maybe they don’t. Regardless, I’m going to find my birth mother and Skywarp and Thundercracker are going to help me. It’s okay if you don’t understand this but I can’t help but feel like there’s something not right in my story. I mean, sentient robots find an infant and decide to raise her? There has to be more. I want to know the truth. Just...promise me you won’t tell Optimus.”

 

“It’s okay Helena,” Cody couldn’t bring himself to look Helena in the eye. “I get it….I understand.”

 

Cody understood all too well.

 

***********************************************************************************************************

 

“What are we supposed to tell her?”

 

“What do we do with her?”

 

“You can’t honestly be considering raising a child, Optimus?”

 

It was Ultra Magnus who spoke last. Optimus Prime, who had been silent during the quabble, finally lifted his helm to meet Ultra Magnus’ gaze. There was a stern, cold look in the Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord’s optics. Ultra Magnus did not like the idea of integrating humans into Cybertronian affairs, he could barely stand Miko as it was, but the idea of actively raising a human as one of their own was setting him over the edge. Although Ultra Magnus was composed on the outside, Optimus could see the internal battle waging with the mech’s helm. The turmoil amongst his team members did little to settle his own fears concerning his decision.

 

“Helena has been exposed to too much,” Optimus began as he turned his helm towards the child. The other mechs followed his gaze. Helena was lying down in the palm of Smokescreen’s servos. They had kept her at the base since their last battle with the Decepticons which resulted in the tragic death of her mother. Optimus had hoped he would never have to see a human killed because of their war, but that hope had died with Jade. Arcee spoke of the young woman’s bravery against the Decepticons when she physically attacked Starscream and had successfully rendered him immobile. Sadly, that’s where Arcee’s account ended since afterwards she was thrown into the burning fires of the surrounding forest by Shockwave. Arcee awoke to the sound of Helena wailing and the sight of blood. No one could find Jade’s body, and Shockwave and Starscream had mysteriously disappeared. All that she had left behind were her daughter and the knowledge that there were other agencies besides MECH that desired to capitalize on Cybertronian tech. “I am certain that the Decepticons have seen Helena,” the Prime continued,” and would gladly target the child. They have no regard for human kind and would not discriminate against her age. Placing the child in any sort of foster facility leaves the risk that an affiliate of GAID may try to obtain and harm the child. It is within her best interest if we keep her with us.”

 

“Optimus,” Ratchet spoke up and tentatively placed a servo on Optimus’ shoulder. “You know how much I would love to keep this kid,” his faceplate suddenly turned sorrowful,” but doesn’t she deserve a normal life. She deserves to have two human parents who love her, she deserves to have friends her own size and species to play with, she deserves-”

 

“It’s what Jade would have wanted.”

 

All optics looked down towards the source of the voice. Jack stood a good distance away from the bots. Despite his timid stance, there was an unquestionable fierceness in his optics.

 

“What do you mean,” Ratchet grumbled, unhappy that his speech had been interrupted.

 

“She….,” it took everything in Jack to look up at the Autobots. Everyone was grieving and mourning over Jade in their own way. Jack couldn’t help but mull over their last conversation. 

 

_ “I-if anything goes wrong today….” _

 

Jade was terrified as she spoke to him. Everytime he remember this moment, she looked more and more scared.

 

_ “Nothing will go wrong, the ‘Bots will make sure of it,” _

 

Jack had stated this as if it were an undeniable fact. It was at the time, the bots had never failed him before.

 

_ “I-I….n-nothing will go wrong Jade. Nothing. I promise.” _

 

He couldn’t believe he promised her.

 

“I promised Jade that I would find a good home for Helena,” Jade began again after settling his inner turmoil. “I promised her that I’d keep Helena safe from the gang that had ruined her life.” Jack took a deep breath before continuing. “ The only way Jade’s final wish can come true is if Helena stays here. Her life won’t be a normal one, but it was never going to be anyway. If you had left her in a foster home then you’d have no control over if she was with a kind family or not. She could spend her entire life in foster care and never be adopted. Or worse, GAID could find Helena and no one would be there to save her. She’d be forced into the same lifestyle as her mother with no hope of escaping.” The Autobots looked between one another and began to ponder Jack’s words.

 

“There appears to be more troubling you Jackson Darby,” Optimus stated in a mellow voice. Jack looked up at Optimus nervously before adding, “And Jade didn’t want…she didn’t want Helena to ever know about her or her past.”

 

“Well that I can agree with!” Ratchet intoned. “Jade, Primus rest her spark, did not leave the best example for Helena. It wouldn’t be wise to share that with the child.”

 

“But aren’t you doing her a disservice?” Bulkhead stated more than asked. He was seated across the room on a crate next to Wheeljack. The latter had been tinkering with a grenade, completely ignoring the tension all of the bots, but was now fully attentive once his friend spoke. “The kid ought to know who her own creator is, even if Jade made some mistakes.”

 

[[ Besides. How will Helena ever know that her mother loved her?]] Bumblebee chirped. 

 

“We will show Helena the love that Jade was unable to,” Optimus said as he gently patted Bumblebee’s helm. “In this way we will honor the mother without harming the child.”

 

“And what if this backfires?” Arcee spat out. The idea of not telling Helena about her mother didn’t sit well with the femme. “What happens if she finds out, or what happens if she starts snooping around? What do we do then?”

 

“Arcee,” Optimus’ voice was calm and steady,” there are contingencies for everything.

 

***********************************************************************************************************”

 

There was not a contingency for this.

 

Helena was acting strangely. As her parents, Optimus and Ratchet couldn’t help but be concerned. The two mechs had debated for at least half an hour on whether or not they should barge into the castle before finally powering up the groundbridge to check on their daughter. They truly wanted to trust Helena, she had never deceived them before, but they remembered from dealing with Raf, Jack, and Miko that earth children had a tendency to hide things from their parents. When they entered the secret laboratory, everything seemed to be in order. The groundbridge was intact, the command module was monitoring all activity within and outside of the castle, there were two seekers in the corner…..what?

 

“What the Pit!?!” Ratchet normally tried not to swear in front of Helena (or at least not when Optimus was around), but today was a huge exception. The fiery look in Ratchet’s optics were enough for Skywarp and Thundercracker to begin cowering despite the two seekers being slightly taller than him. Optimus looked down at the three teens near the seekers. Cody and Frankie were doing their best not to meet the Prime’s gaze, but Helena had made the horrible mistake of looking Optimus directly in his optics.To the ill-informed onlooker Prime would have appeared composed, maybe even serene. However, Helena knew Optimus Prime very well. He was pissed.

 

“How long have you been in our daughter’s basement?” Optimus asked in a frighteningly monotonous voice.

 

“Oh,” Thundercracker replied with his script in hand,” allow me to explain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to comment, I love hearing what you all have to say. Just so you know, I imagine Skywarp and Thundercracker as having their IDW frames. Starscream still has his TFP frame but we'll be fixing that soon ;)


	3. Unravel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The seekers tell their tale and Optimus isn't happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry the chapter is short this week. I've had a lot of family over recently and I'm taking summer courses (yaaaaay not really yaaaaay). So there's some parental angst in here. Sorry if Optimus seems out of character, I was trying to channel that heartbroken Prime from IDW. I will be changing some tags in here. Just so you know, this is the beginning of slag going down. It will get perpetually worse. Also, I may continue the whole flashback thing, I think it helps show where Ratchet and OP are coming from.

“What do you mean you’re trinemates.” It took Ratchet a full joor and a half to come to terms with the fact that two random seekers had been hiding out in his daughter’s castle, but the double whammy that they were trined to Starscream was throwing Ratchet ( and his wrenches) for a loop. As Ratchet continued to curse the sky, sea, and the creator of the Minions( Helena had made him watch that movie way too many times when she was younger), Optimus Prime was stood silent. During Thundercracker’s long, and heavily overacted skit, Optimus had silently commed almost the entirety of team Prime to the castle. Arcee had entered with Jack seated upon her shoulder. Neither one of them looked happy when their eyes landed on the animated seeker. They had exchanged a brief look as if to say “What the frag?”, but then saw Helena’s submissive posture and realized “Oh, she fragged up!”. Bumblebee had entered in shortly after with his teammates and human friends from Crown City. He looked around the room frantically scanning to see if Blades was there. His doorwings drooped slightly when he realized the orange helicopter had not yet arrived and tried his best to not to laugh at the comical act Thundercracker was putting on. The Rescue Bots arrived somewhere between the third and fourth act, as well as Ultra Magnus, some of his Lost Light crew, and Verity and Miko. Helena wasn’t certain what to expect when Optimus and Ratchet first met Thundercracker and Skywarp. She wanted to say that she saw this coming, but she honestly did not expect the entire Autobot army to be called in. Some of the bots that entered the laboratory she had never even met before. Apparently, Jazz, Ironhide, Sideswipe, and Prowl worked in Special Ops with the American military, Cyclonus WAS NOT a Decepticon (also he had a minicon boyfriend???), the Rescue Bots had three new additions to their team that Helena didn’t know about, and Bumblebee had a  ~~ dinosaur ~~  Dinobot for a friend.

 

“If you had paid attention in Act II you would have recalled the sacred rites,” Thundercracker replied in the steadiest voice he could muster. The number of mechs within the room had distressed the aspiring screenwriter, and when he realized they were all Autobots his energon pressure skyrocketed. “It is rude not to pay attention, especially since I worked so hard on this script.”

 

“Yep, I understand exactly how you feel with the whole abandonment thing,” Grimlock nearly shouted in his gruff voice. “ Just like how  _ SOMEONE _ who is a red sports car and name rhymes with HIDEWIPE left our team to hang out with JAZZ!”

 

“Really Grim?!” Sideswipe folded his arms and pouted.

 

[[Grimlock, this isn’t the time!]] Bumblebee scolded his teammate.

 

“Hmm, well I have a few questions for our visitors,” Chase stated as he pointedly ignored the now squabbling team.“ For example, was the musical number really necessary?”

 

“I was thinking the exact same thing,” Cyclonus cut in. The purple mech did little to hide the disdain in his voice. “I mean after what happened in Act VI it seemed completely out of place.”

 

“I don’t know,” Boulder hummed scratching his chin,” I feel like we needed a moment of joy to uplift us from the tragedy of rest of play.”

 

“The play itself was a tragedy,” Ironhide grumbled,” and pointless!”

 

“Optimus Prime,” Prowl said as he directed his stance towards the quiet mech. “We should be interrogating these seekers, not indulging in their time-consuming charades especially since there are better uses of our time-”

 

“Like what my crew found two star systems away,” Rodimus Prime cut in. “Ultra Magnus has been meaning to send those reports over to you.”

 

“You mean  _ you _ have been meaning to send those reports,” Ultra Magnus scowled.

 

“Yeah sure, anyway whatever is happening out there it looks dangerous and has ‘Con written all over it.”

 

“Optimus Prime,” Thundercracker’s voice returned to its usual monotone state. “We have waited patiently to have an audience with you, please do not disregard our concerns.”

 

“Yes,” Optimus replied,” you have waited patiently, but now you have had your audience and frankly I am not certain you or your comrade can be trusted. Our history with Starscream has been….tumultuous to say the least and the Decepticons become more brazen and ruthless in their attacks. We Autobots are empathetic, but we are no fools. We will not allow Megatron to toy with our emotions.”

 

“Pfft,” Skywarp’s dark faceplate twisted into a scowl. “It’s not like I expected much from a grounder like yourself. You have no idea what it’s like to be trined to another person. We felt Starscream’s pain, we could feel his fear.  Megatron has been torturing him for Primus knows how long. Starscream is stubborn and full of pride, the fact that he called out to us through our bond means that he’s reached the end of his rope with Megatron. If we don’t help him now who knows what Megatron will do to him next, or if he’ll even survive his next punishment.”

 

“We understand that Starscream can be unbearable at times,” Thundercracker cut in, “ but are his actions worth wasting his strategic intellect by allowing him to perish by Megatron’s servos?”

 

“Yes!” Ratchet was completely exasperated at this point (and had run out of wrenches to throw). “Starscream has done horrible things to the Autobots and Cybertron as a whole!”

 

“Last time me checked laddies,” Hightide added in a menacing tone, “ Starscream was the one who massacred the Senate?” 

 

“That doesn’t mean he can’t change!” Tailgate cried. “Look at Cyclonus! He used to be a Decepticon and now he’s a part of the Lost Light crew with me.”

 

“Oh oh, I used to be a ‘con,” Grimlock squealed as his tail wagged back and forth excitedly,” and I used to looove smashin’ stuff. Now, I smash stuff for the good guys!”

 

“If you can trust happy McHulky and skullface,” Skywarp quipped,” I don’t see why you can’t help us. We’re not asking to become honorary Autobots, we never wanted to be a part of this war in the first. What we want is to save our stupid self-absorbed trine leader from getting his processor fried by Megatron’s fusion cannon.”

 

“You want us to save a ‘con and we get nothin’ in return,” Wheeljack chided.

 

“How does helping Starscream benefit us?” Bulkhead gestured towards the entire group as he spoke.” He’s left 'ole buckethead before and turned right back once his plans failed. What’s to say he won’t return to the Decepticons after we help him.”

 

“What concerns me is not what we might gain from aiding Starscream,” Optimus’ voice was dark and strained. His optics narrowed into cold blue slits that sent a shiver down every mech and human’s spine,” but what you offered my daughter why she agreed to aid you.” Optimus’ statement was not a question but a command, the two seekers visibly trembled as they looked at one another. Neither dared to look directly into the Prime’s icy optics and instead looked towards the teen as if to ask for help. Helena had been sitting on a stool sandwiched between Prowl and Jazz. There was no way she could escape the situation. Either mech would have easily stopped her from fleeing the room, and she was too far away from the human side of the laboratory to reach the elevator (nevermind the fact that the human-sized stool was placed on a Cybertronian sized table). She was stuck. Helena summed up all of her courage and sent a prayer to Primus that an angel would descend and rescue her from this situation...or that she would mysteriously vanish through the floor. She took a deep breath and looked directly into Optimus’ optics.

 

“That’s none of your business, it’s not like you’re my father.”

 

*************************************************************************************************************

 

Optimus sat under the cold solvent of the base’s washracks wondering what in Primus’ name he had done. Every day, for the past three weeks, Helena woke up crying for a mother she didn’t remember and would cry herself back to sleep. She couldn’t look at the color red, which made things difficult especially since most of Optimus’ paint job was red. The three-year-old would begin to bawl as she remembered how the red liquid began pouring out of the woman she once called momma. Ratchet had to repaint his own frame a lighter shade of orange to appease the child. The team was still split concerning keeping Helena in their care, but Optimus still believed it was the right thing to do. He knew he could never be a real father to the child, but every time he held the small being in his servo he knew the love that began to swell within his spark was real. Even if he wasn’t her father, he could be something close.

  
  


*************************************************************************************************************

 

When Optimus reset his optics, three Wreckers, a Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord, half of the Rescue Bot team, and Grimlock were in a dogpile on top of him. Optimus blinked several times trying to make sense of what was going on. His audio receptors had shut off and he re-tuned them as his sensors came back online. Ratchet was half leaning against a nearby desk screaming ‘Oh my God’ over and over again, Cyclonus was tending to Tailgate who had passed out from a panic attack, and their human comrades were shaking and yelling amongst themselves.

 

“Optimus, what the frag!?” Rodimus stood above the other Prime trembling. “What the actual frag?” Optimus looked around the room sheepily as everyone cautiously turned their attention to the downed Prime. He attempted to aright himself, but the pile of mechs on top of him prevented any further motion.

 

“What happened?” the words came out slurred as a huge helmache hit the Prime.

 

[[What happened!?]] Bumblebee beeped incredulously. He moved away from the humans he had been trying to comfort and began shooing mechs off of Optimus. [[Are you serious?]] 

Optimus’ knees nearly buckled as he tried to stand. A servo, which he reached out for thinking it was for support, suddenly grabbed his shoulder plate and twisted the limb in its socket.

 

“Ahhhhh!”

 

“What the frag is wrong with you Optimus,” the fire in Arcee’s optics was just a strong as her grip. “You nearly killed her!”

 

“What are you talking about?” Optimus said as he attempted to escape the furious femme’s clutches. He failed to do so as another massive helmache attacked him.

 

“Ya seriously don’t remember what jus happened mech?” Jazz asked as he flipped his visor up. Optimus looked into the typically hidden optics of the concerned mech and fought to recall what had just taken place. Optimus scanned and rescanned his processor until he found the memory in cache. He nearly collapsed when he opened the file.

  
  


_ Everything had turned red. He couldn’t hear anything anymore. Prowl and Jazz had leaped and grabbed both of his arms in a weak attempt to hold him back. However, the Prime was laser-focused on the unruly teen in front of him. He tossed Jazz halfway across the room into the screen of the command module, Prowl crashed into Ironhide and Sideswipe. Bumblebee and Strongarm raced to move the frightened humans out of the Prime’s way as Cyclonus and Drift attempted to thwart the enraged Prime. An ungodly amount of anger rushed over the Prime as he grabbed each mech by the helm before smashing them together.  _

 

How dare you? How dare you say that? How dare you say that when I have tried so hard? I have tried so hard for you. 

 

_ Helena squirmed in his servo and began banging her fists against the large metal. She opened her mouth but Optimus heard no sound. He watched as she began banging her fists harder than before.  _

 

Is this what you wanted? Is this what you really wanted? You wanted to hurt me after all I and Ratchet have done for you, after all the love we have shown you? Your mother gave you up, she abandoned you. Then she re-appeared in your life only to die and leave you again. I and Ratchet have dedicated the past thirteen years of our lives taking care of you and this is how you repay us? You dare mock us by inviting Starscream’s trine into our home? The home that Ratchet slaved over for you? You’ve rejected our love for a mother who will never come back for you? You’ve rejected my love? You’ve rejected me?

 

_ A purple light overwhelmed Optimus. When he looked down into his servo Helena was gone. He whipped his helm violently searching for her when it landed on her small frame lying prone in Skywarp’s servos. He reached out for her, but a blue thruster connected with the back of his helm and sent him crashing to the floor. The thruster rested on his helm a moment longer before a thunderous boom ricocheted within him. The red began to fade and the world turned dark. _

 

Did I mean nothing?

 

“Didya even hear yourself mech?” Jazz whispered as he rubbed a bashed part of his chassis. Optimus turned his helm towards Ratchet who was barely holding himself up now. Heatwave and Boulder did their best to support the now weeping medic. Optimus looked back at Jazz with dimmed optics.

 

“W-where is she?” Optimus asked in a barely audible voice.

 

“They took her!” Ratchet screamed. His voice was bitter and laced with venom. “They took her you idiot!”

 

“What?” Optimus looked around the room confused, the thunderous boom still danced around in his helm.

 

“They took her Prime,” Prowl answered as he removed Arcee who was still gripping Optimus’ shoulder. “The seekers have her now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. So that happened. I love hearing your thought so please feel free to comment below. 
> 
> Note: The underlined parts are what Optimus is thinking out loud. He has no idea that he is actually saying these things out loud.


	4. Starscream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream remembers his trine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is so short, summer courses have been kicking my butt. I've been working and reworking the plot for this story. I've actually written some chapters out of order believe it or not. anyway this chapter in particular took me a while to write, but i hope you guys enjoy it.

Starscream was tired. He had spent eons fighting for a cause he no longer believed in and eons serving a leader who didn’t deserve him. He was once a great scientist, the first of his kind to attend the Academy of Science back on Cybertron and a capable military strategist. What was he now? Lord Megatron’s personal punching bag. It wasn’t that bad at first, back at the beginning of the war. Back then Starscream was young and nibble, he had energy, ambition, and a shipload of pride. Back then, Starscream had the will to fight back and scheme whenever Megatron abused him, now he just rolled over and let the warlord do his worst. Sadly, it seemed as if the warlord’s patience dwindled everytime Starscream gave up in the middle of a fight. After so many years of standing against him, Starscream thought Megatron would be thrilled to see him submit….he was wrong. As the severity of Megatron’s abuses increased, Starscream found his thoughts drifting further and further away into the times before the war. He remembered Cybertron’s golden sun drifting over Vos, Skywarp and Thundercracker basked in its rays. Skywarp’s mischievous grin dazzled in the bright sunlight, and Thundercracker’s ruby optics gleamed at both of them. He remembered them begging him not to join Megatron, to escape the war, to stay with them. Starscream couldn’t help now but laugh at how naive he was in his youth. He joined the Decepticons despite his trinemates protests. In his mind, he was fighting for their homeworld, for Vos, for them. He thought that someday he’d call Skywarp and Thundercracker back from wherever they had fled to return to a new Cybertron, a Cybertron that he had saved just for them. He imagined how proud they would be of him when they returned, they’d celebrate by drinking sweet energex at Maccadam’s Oil House and they’d soar through the skies above Vos. For years, that was the only thing holding Starscream together. The dream of him and his trinemates reuniting on a new Cybertron helped him endure beatings from the Autobots and Megatron alike. As the years bore onward, the dream seemed to fade away. He didn’t want to soar across the skies of Vos. He didn’t want to drink energex at Maccadam’s. He just wanted Skywarp and Thundercracker. To feel their sparks pulse against his own and to hold their frames close to his. Starscream didn’t mean to open the closed bond. If he were honest with himself, he wasn’t exactly sure how he had reopened it in the first place. He had closed it off a few months into the war when a medic informed him that the pain and fear he felt during battles were able to travel through the bond. He closed himself off out of love, he even sent an apology, but he was certain that Skywarp and Thundercracker resented him for it and he never ventured to reopen the bond. It was during his last beating from Lord Megatron that it reopened. The warlord had ripped off his chestplates, his sharp talons just inches away from the vivid blue spark. Starscream was cornered with nowhere to go, he had roused Megatron’s wrath for the last time. In those last few moments before the final blow, Starscream saw Skywarp and Thundercracker. He saw their beautiful altmodes gliding across the vibrant skies of Vos. He watched them descend on the ground before him and listened as the sound of their laughter filled the air. As the faces of his trinemates began to fade to black, Starscream felt something deep inside his spark open up. For the first time in eons, Starscream felt the sparks of his trinemates beat against his own. He felt their anger, their concern, their fear. In those moments before the world faded away, Starscream sent one final message to his trinemates.

 

“I loved you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're going to see more of Helena and the other seekers and learn about what's going on aboard the nemesis in the next chapter


	5. Killshot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helena questions her life and an old character returns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone who read the old fic is going to be pretty happy with this reveal. It took me a while to write this chapter so sorry if it's a little short. Things will pick up by the next chapter.

Being lied to and being deceived are two completely different things. Despite the similarities in the words, deceit carries a much greater weight than a lie. Lying is simply the act of not telling the truth; deception, however, is a premeditated act to sway someone’s beliefs for the sake of personal gain. Helena was angry. Not because Optimus Prime wouldn’t listen to Skywarp and Thundercracker, not because he had yelled at her and embarrassed her in front of the entire Autobot army, and not because he had nearly crushed her in one swift movement of his servo. Helena was angry because for her entire life she was being deceived and she was nowhere close to uncovering the truth about herself. Helena shivered when she remembered Optimus’ harsh words and the accidental mention of her mother. Whenever she had asked about her mother in the past, the Autobots always feigned ignorance and were quick to change the subject. The only clue she had to their deceit was one summer’s eve when she asked Jack if her mother had green eyes and the young man cringed. This newfound information filled Helena’s head with new questions that she needed to be answered. How did her mother meet the Autobots? Why did her mother abandon her? Why did her mother return? What else did Optimus know? Was her mother even really dead? Helena needed these questions to be answered. She needed to know the truth.

 

“Whatcha’ thinking about?” Skywarp stopped walking for a moment and looked down at the small human a few strides behind him. When he and Thundercracker had first crashed on the castle’s remote island, he didn’t know what to expect from this strange new world. Thundercracker had learned a bit about human culture from films and documentaries, but Skywarp was always unimpressed by the antics humans displayed in their media. It wasn’t until Skywarp met Helena that he began to care for the creatures that roamed this planet. Helena was smart and witty, she wasn’t fearful despite her small size and was very curious. Skywarp admired all of these qualities that he saw in the young girl, qualities that had vanished after their fight with the Prime. “Is everything alright?”

 

Helena took a deep breath, an act she quickly regretted once she felt her ribs dig into the sides of her lungs. Optimus Prime really did have a grip. “No,” Helena practically growled. “I’m not fine. My body aches, I was just attacked by my adoptive father, I’m wandering in the middle of some ominous forest with two unaligned seekers, and everything that I’ve been told for my entire life has been a lie. I don’t feel okay, I feel terrible!” Helena sank into the damp forest floor beneath her and hid her face in her hands. She wept for some time until she felt herself being lifted gently in the air. Helena wiped her tears and looked into Skywarp’s brilliant crimson optics. The purple seeker gave her a soft smile and gently patted her head.

“It’s alright Helena,” the deep warmth of his tone instantly calming the girl,” I know this is hard for you but things will get better, I promise.”

 

“I know it’s difficult when the people you love leave you,” Thundercracker stated as he approached the pair,” or when you feel as if you’ve been lied to or taken advantage of. That hurts and I don’t think there’s anything that hurts more in the world than that. But you can’t lose hope, you must stay strong despite your circumstances. As a famous earth aquatic craniate creature once said, ‘Just keep swimming’.”

 

Helena giggled at the Pixar reference and pressed her cheek against Skywarp’s thumb. “Thanks guys,” Helena sighed as a blanket of fatigue began to rest on her,” I really appreciate it.”

 

“No problem kiddo,” Skywarp smirked. “I think you’ve walked enough for today, but I’m definitely not letting you ride in my cockpit. Thundercracker?” Skywarp extended his servos toward the blue seeker. Thundercracker sighed as he placed Helena within the warmth of his cockpit. The two seekers continued on their walk in silence. Little did they know that they were being watched the whole time.

 

********************************************************************************************************

 

Megatron sat idly on his throne and stared at the sealed doors leading to his throne room. Any moment now, Shockwave would burst through those doors and grant him the answer he had been waiting years for. Megatron wasn’t a patient mech in any sense of the word, but the moment Shockwave proposed the project to him Megatron knew the results would be well worth the wait. Megatron checked up on Shockwave every stellar cycle or so to witness the mech’s progress on the project, it was Shockwave’s most exhilarating endeavor since the predacons (hopefully it wasn’t nearly as deadly). Years had passed since the project was first proposed and today was the day when Shockwave finally revealed his results.

 

Megatron checked his internal chronometer for the fifteenth time that cycle and nervously tapped a pede on the floor. Suddenly, the throne room doors opened and Megatron shot out of his throne and marched towards the doors. He only made it halfway across the room when he realized he was not marching towards Shockwave, but towards Soundwave accompanied by a thin black femme. The femme was thin like Soundwave and sported a long cord that sprouted from her helm and draped behind her back down to her kneecaps-- it almost resembled a human ponytail. The femme was a seeker frame, however, instead of having her wings on her back, they stuck to the sides of her hips like a skirt would. Megatron couldn’t help but admit that the femme was attractive. She had the fierce aura and walk of a warrior while her delicate gray faceplate and light purple bio-lights helped soften her look. Her shape was similar to Arcee except more rounded at the hips, and she had legs that could rival Starscream’s. However, the femme’s most distinguishing feature wasn’t any of those things, it was her bright green optics.

 

“I don’t believe we have met before,” Megatron cast the femme a handsome smirk.

“Actually we have Lord Megatron,” the femme’s voice was as cold as ice,” but I suppose you make an effort to forget all the people you’ve wronged.”

 

Megatron stared at the green opticed femme for a long time. Despite the fact that he had never seen the femme before this day, her stance and voice were too familiar to be passed off as coincidence. Megatron’s optics shot wide as realization dawned on the mech. A wide fanged grin spread across the silver tyrant’s faceplates as he began to eye the femme with a newfound wonder. “Shockwave’s experiment worked,” Megatron whispered,” it really worked.” Soundwave, whose presence Megatron had almost forgotten, stepped forward and began playing a recording on his visor. Shockwave stood before the camera hunched over a keypad. His digits tapped ferociously upon the keys until he finally straightened and looked into the camera. His lone optic shone a bright crimson, if the mech had any emotions it might appear as if he were….happy.

 

“Greetings, Lord Megatron,” the recording began. “Forgive me for not being present at this time, but it was imperative that I remain within my laboratory to monitor the test subject’s vitals. Although I have conducted numerous preliminary test, it appears as if there are still some...issues that need to be attended to,” Megatron couldn’t help but notice how the femme stiffened at Shockwave’s pause. So, the test subject wasn’t perfect? “One of the issues that needs addressing is the fact that the subject has still retained some of their previous memories. This is beneficial to us in some respects since you will not need to retrain in the art of espionage, however, the subject suffers from some….bouts of aggression.” A short clip played that demonstrated said “bout of aggression”. The femme lashed out at the Shockwave and threw him halfway across the laboratory and proceeded to destroy most of the purple mech’s equipment. Megatron let out a small huff of amusement when Shockwave tried to use a metal tray as a shield, the smirk on the femme’s faceplate wasn’t lost to him either. Megatron liked this one. “Despite these issues, I believe that the subject is fully functional and ready for dispatch. To justify my belief, I have sent the subject on their first espionage mission. The subject will report back to you by tomorrow with their results. Thank you for your time Lord Megatron, Shockwave out.”

 

“Soundwave,” Megatron continued to eye the femme as he spoke to his loyal third. “When was this message recorded?”

 

<<This morning Lord Megatron, about three hours ago.>> Soundwave responded dutifully. Megatron’s browed arched irritably and he turned towards the stone-faced femme.

 

“Why is it that you have disregarded Shockwave’s orders and barged into my throne room? Do you not know what I can do to you femme?” Megatron loomed dangerously over the femme. His ire increased when he realized that she was not phased by the aggressive display.

 

“I am  _ well _ aware of what you are capable of Lord Megatron,” the femme replied nonchalantly,” I came to you because I completed my mission early.”

 

Megatron reprocessed his audio files to ensure that he had heard her correctly. Had she completed her mission already? Shockwave gave her a mission three hours ago and she was finished already? Megatron forced his faceplate into a stoic expression and returned to his place on his throne. “Well,” Megatron began once he was seated,” you may debrief me...uh-”

 

“Killshot,” the femme replied. “My designation is now Killshot.”

 

“Hmmm, and why have you chosen this designation for yourself. I thought that since you have retained some of your memories, you might want to continue using your former name?”

 

“Jade is dead. She died in a fire...remember?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back, back again. Guess who's back, tell a friend!


	6. Brewing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storm is brewing and things are about to get ugly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't have a very good title for this one. We're about to get to some of the good parts of this fic. If you weren't feeling anything before then you're going to start feeling now.

The results of Killshot’s mission were...enlightening, Megatron decided this after several cycles of mulling over the information she shared with him. Megatron didn’t really care about the seekers from Starscream’s trine being on earth, he remembered the fools from before the war. They had the gall to deny his offer to join the Decepticons, even to the point of insulting him, then attempted to steal Starscream away from him and run off to some neutral planet. Starscream’s trinemates, in Megatron’s optics, did not pose a threat to his army. The human accompanying them was a surprise, but they may have kidnapped the fleshing to serve as a guide. What bothered Lord Megatron was the alarming number of Autobots that had entered Earth’s atmosphere within the past three hours. It only served to reason that Optimus Prime was planning a full on assault against the Nemesis. His adversary had finally hardened his spark and was ready to end this war once and for all. Two could play at that game Optimus Prime.

 

“Soundwave!” Megatron called out across the ship’s command bay. Soundwave turned from his work at one of the many command modules and made his way towards Megatron. “Have you heard back from them yet?”

 

[[Affirmative.]] Soundwave replied with a tilt of his helm. [[Three Decepticon ships approaching Milky Way. New recruits expected soon.]]

 

“Excellent, and what of Laserbeak and our newest member Killshot?”

 

[[Laserbeak: Observing Starscream’s trine. Trine expected to arrive: three hours.]]

 

“Hmm, well make sure that they arrive on the Nemesis safely, I want to deal with those seekers personally.”

 

[[Yes my Lord. Killshot: tending to Starscream in med-bay.]]

 

“Keep an eye on her progress and inform Shockwave of her success. That will be all Soundwave.”

 

[[Yes my Lord.]] Soundwave watched as Megatron returned to his work at the command module. The warlord was currently developing plans to retaliate against the Prime’s assault. Although the spymaster did not voice his opinion to the warlord, Soundwave didn’t believe that the influx of Autobot activity was due to an assault. The Autobots could be ruthless fighters, that he had seen first hand, but the way in which their external forces had surfaced on the Decepticon’s radar appeared messy and rushed. Soundwave returned to his module and reviewed the live feed he was receiving from Laserbeak. The seekers were currently making their way along a mountain range, flying at a low altitude in a weak attempt to not arouse the Decepticon’s suspicions. Lying in the cockpit of the blue seeker was a young human girl. The tint of the seeker’s cabin window obscure his view, so Soundwave pulled up files from Killshot’s earlier mission. In the photos the femme had taken, the girl’s figure was much clearer. She had bright blue optics- eyes?- that reminded Soundwave of the Autobots and their leader. Her skin was a rich shade of brown and she had tight black coils that bounced gracefully against her shoulders. The girl walked with a slight limp, she had probably been injured when the seekers captured her, and she had a slight scowl on her face. Something about her face reminded Soundwave of someone he once knew. The only humans he had come in contact with were the Prime’s pet and their human military ally. There was Jade too, but she didn’t look anything like this human despite having a similar scowl although it was rare when Jade would do so. Perhaps that was it. An alert distracted Soundwave from his research, apparently a group of Vehicons had blasted a hole in the western hull of the ship trying to make high-grade. Soundwave rolled his optics behind his visor. The TICs work never ended.

 

***********************************************************************************************************

 

No one ever talked about it. No one ever mentioned the fact that Cody Burns looked nothing like his siblings. It was a taboo topic within the Burns house, something the Rescue Bots quickly learned one awkward evening after their arrival on Griffon Rock. The Rescue Bots didn’t think it necessary to warn the other bots about the sensitivity surrounding the topic, most bots didn’t question humans concerning their families anyway, apparently that was a mistake.

 

“Wait, so you’re _ALL_ related?” Sideswipe asked as he pointed an accusative finger towards the family. Chief Burns whipped his head towards the cocky sports cars and sent him a flat glare.

 

“These are _all_ of my children and we _are_ a family,” Chief Burns stressed through gritted teeth.

 

“Yeah, but none of you look alike.” Sideswipe continued. “The only one who looks like you is Cody.”

 

“Sideswipe!” Strongarm jammed a strong elbow into the speedsters side.

 

“What! None of them match. Aren’t human families supposed to match?”

 

“ _We_ don’t all match!” Blades yelled across the room. He quickly moved to stand in front of his human friends, shielding them from the scrutinizing mech’s view. “We’re all different but we’re all apart of the Autobot family.”

 

“You mean army,” Drift corrected as he cleaned one of his swords.

 

“No mech,” Ironhide interjected. “We’re a family of bots that fight together. Our differences are our strengths mech, an’ that’s what keeps us together.”

 

“That doesn’t detain-restrain- EXPLAIN why they all look different,” Fixit chided.

 

Charlie Burns did his best not to appear uncomfortable throughout the exchange, but his children easily saw his distress. Chief Burns watched out of the corner of his eye as Cody began to move further and further towards the back of the group, Frankie tried her best to console him. Cody always hated it when people pointed out how different they all looked from one another. Kade had a large chin and bright orange hair, Graham had dark eyes and light brown hair, Danny had reddish-brown hair and green eyes, and Cody had blonde hair and blue eyes. None of the Burns children looked like one another. What made it worse for Cody was that the more people pointed out the differences between the four children, the more they realized he was the only one who looked like their dad.

 

A warm hand jolted Chief Burns out of his thoughts and he turned to see the concerned face of his daughter beside him.

 

“It’s okay dad,” she whispered softly, “it’ll only make things worse if we ignore it.”

 

“You don’t have to you know.” Both Burns looked up into the stern optics of their resident firetruck. Heatwave smiled weakly at his human companions and added, “I could always just deck Sideswipe in the intake. That would keep his mouth shut for a REALLY long time.” Chief Burns couldn’t help but chuckle at the threat and sighed deeply.

 

“No Heatwave, this has already gone too far. There’s no way we can ignore it now.” Chief Burns walked past Blades who was in the middle of sending a comm to Bumblebee to chastise his former teammate and into the view of the other mechs in the room. “My children,” Chief Burns began,” as you may have guessed are adopted.” Chief Burns looked around the room to make sure he had everyone’s attention. “My wife and I, who has passed away so please don’t ask Sideswipe, were unable to have children so we adopted Graham, Kade, and Danny.” All mech were silent, Strongarm sent a scolding look to Sideswipe which caused the speedster to sink into himself.

 

“What about Cody?” Everyone turned to face the mech who had spoken up. Chief Burns was surprised to see that it was Prowl who had joined the conversation rather than one of the inquisitive minicons. “Forgive me for asking, I just couldn’t help but realize that you had left your other son out.” Chief Burns nodded slowly and took in a shaky breath as he braced himself for the hard part of the conversation. Chief Burns opened his mouth to speak, but before the words could come out of his mouth another voice spoke ahead of him.

 

“I’m his only biological child, and I’m also the reason why our mom is dead.” Cody spoke through tears.

 

“Cody!” Graham moved from where he was seated with Rafael and toward his younger brother.” Don’t talk like that, you know better.”

 

“It’s true isn’t!” Cody cried as he struggled to choke back his tears. “I’m the reason why she’s dead! She died giving birth to me!”

 

All of the bots bristled at the new information. The already quiet room seemed to get even quieter as the bots struggled against their discomfort, the only sound that could be heard was the quiet reassurances the Burns family sent to their youngest member. “I need some space!” Cody snapped before quickly walking over to the elevator to that led to outside of the castle. Everyone sat in silence, bots and humans alike were sending spark stopping glares to Sideswipe and Prowl. Both bots bowed their heads in shame. Prime had only left the various sects of Autobots alone for less than half an hour, and somehow they had already managed to cause discord amongst themselves. Frankie excused herself from the awkwardness of the room and quickly made her way to the elevator. She had expected to find Cody sobbing in the small garden outside of the Castle but was surprised to find Cody waiting for her impatiently. “Took you long enough,” Cody replied to Frankie’s surprised look.

 

“What do you mean? I thought you were-”

 

“I don’t want to talk about that right now Frankie. What we need to do is find Helena.” Cody pulled out a small scanner from the left pocket of his jacket and began walking into the jungle of the small island.

 

“Cody where are we going?” Frankie asked in a slightly irritated tone of voice. Cody could be moody after people brought up his mother, and rightly so of course, however, she still didn’t appreciate it when that ire was directed at her.

 

“Don’t worry Frankie, just a few more clicks and AHA!” Cody stopped abruptly in front of a seemingly unimpressive patch of dirt. Frankie looked between Cody and the patch of dirt with a deep frown and sighed.

 

“What are we doing out here?” Frankie crossed her arms, a sign that Cody knew meant she was losing her patience.

 

“You weren’t the only one who performed experiments with Helena,” Cody responded with a smirk,” watch this!” The patch of dirt in front of the two teens opened up to reveal an impressive looking motorcycle. The bike was a crisp white with red and green accents along the sides, the seats were a plush leather and a sidecar was placed on the right-hand side of the bike. Frankie’s jaw dropped when she saw the motorcycle and immediately hopped onto the bike.

 

“You and Helena made this?” Frankie cried out.

 

“Yep, it’s not an ordinary motorcycle either,” Cody replied as he moved beside Frankie. Cody placed the scanner in between the handlebars of the bike causing the cycle to power on. “Remember when we were talking to Helena earlier? I didn’t trust those seekers, so when I grabbed her shoulders I placed a small tracking device on the sleeves of her blouse. You see that red dot,” Cody pointed to a small blinking dot in the center of the scanner. “That’s Helena’s current position.” Frankie leaned over the scanner and began to read the coordinates it was outputting.

 

“Cody!” Frankie screamed. “That’s over 5,000 miles away! How in Tesla’s name are we going to reach her?” Cody smiled at Frankie and ushered her into the sidecar of the motorcycle.

 

“That’s the beauty of this motorcycle Frankie. It utilizes groundbridge technology to transport the rider wherever they want to go, and right now we want to find Helena.”

 

“But shouldn’t we inform everyone else what’s going on, that we found her location?” Frankie was about to bolt out of the sidecar when Cody placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

 

“No,” he replied. “I know what Helena’s going through, they don’t. I know what it’s like to live your entire life without a mother. I understand the longing, the pain, the wishing that you could be just like everyone else. Frankie, we _both_ know what Helena’s going through.” Frankie turned away from Cody’s stern gaze but the boy continued. “My mom is dead and your mom chose not to be a part of your life after she and your dad divorced. Imagine what Helena’s going through! First, she thinks that her mother is dead, then she finds out her mother just left her? Helena needs people who understand her, not another Sideswipe incident. So, are you with me?” Frankie turned back and met Cody’s gaze. She could see that he was serious, and she knew that Cody was right. The small red dot was moving across the scanner quickly, the seekers were probably in flight now. If they wanted to catch up to Helena they needed to move now.

 

“Okay Cody,” Frankie relented,” I’m with you.” The blonde haired boy revved up the motorcycle and the two teens drove into the swirling green light of the groundbridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Cody, you should have listened to Frankie. If only you knew what your author had in store for you...


	7. Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Killshot and Starscream have a talk. Danger is approaching the Autobot team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long. I kept rewriting his chapter and skipping ahead to future ones. Also, I've been taking care of my two year old niece so I haven't had much time for writing.
> 
> Please comment below, I love your thoughts and opinions.

Starscream awoke to a world of pain. His intakes hitched as a sharp stinging began to engulf his entire chassis. He fought to aright himself but was quickly pushed down by two firm servos. Despite his desire to get up out of the berth, Starscream knew he was too badly damaged to make it out of the medbay. Most of his systems had yet to online and his vision was blurred. Starscream gasped when a cooling pad was placed on his chest armor, the sensation was greatly appreciated and he practically purred in satisfaction. If Starscream had had his choice, he would have joined the allspark and rid himself of this cruel existence once and for all. But, life was never kind to the silver seeker and he was forced to face another day of Megatron’s abuse. After several joors of lying in the pleasant silence of the medbay, Starscream forced his optics online and scanned his surroundings.

 

“Welcome back Starscream.”

 

Starscream screamed and nearly threw himself off of the med-berth. He knew that voice. He knew who that voice belonged to. Why was that voice coming out of that femme?

 

“It can’t be?” Starscream cried out incredulously. Shakily, he reached a servo out to touch the femme seated besides him. Everything was the same, but it was so different. Those soul-piercing green eyes, the stoic expression, the cord down the femme’s spinal strut almost looked like a ponytail. None of this was possible! They were in the fire together, he heard the gunshots, he saw her bleeding. “This isn’t possible!”

 

“It shouldn’t be possible, but Shockwave made it possible.” The femme’s faceplate softened when she saw the fear in Starscream’s optics. The seeker fumbled on his words as he tried to process what he was seeing before him.

 

“Shockwave….did this to you?” Starscream finally managed. Killshot nodded her helm at the seeker. Starscream couldn’t help but notice how her optics dimmed at the mention of Shockwave. “Did it….hurt?” Starscream forced himself to ask although he already knew the answer. Shockwave was well known for how “gentle” he would be with his experiments. Killshot didn’t respond for a while, Starscream pondered whether or not the femme would simply ignore the question. Suddenly, Killshot turned to Starscream, her optics an ominous shade of green. She clenched her servos so tightly that her talons dug into her protoform. A dangerous static began to form around the femme, Starscream watched in awe as a stream of electricity sprouted from her helm and began to dance along the black cord. In an instant, it all stopped. The spark fizzled out of the cord, her servos unclenched as thin trails of energon dripped down her digits, and the deadly look in Killshot’s optics turned into pain. Starscream, uncertain of what to do, reached out towards the femme. His thin digits cupped the side of Killshot’s faceplate and he unconsciously began to stroke her cheek with his thumb. They sat like that for a moment before a small flashdrive was placed in his free servo. Starscream looked between the drive and the femme, curious but also terrified of the contents that it held. 

 

“Jade, I-” Starscream began before the femme gripped his servo to silence him.

 

“He tortured me Starscream,” Killshot refused to meet the seeker’s optics. “He tortured me and he destroyed my body. He murdered me and all I have left of myself is a name from a past I can never run away from.” Killshot stood up from where she was seated and began to pace the medbay in an effort to calm the static that was building up inside her. Starscream looked between the flashdrive and the femme once more before finally deciding to subspace the item. He wasn’t used to seeing the femme like this. When Jade was well….Jade, she was cool, collected, unnerved by anything that happened to her. Even in Megatron’s intimidating presence, the young human didn’t even flinch as the warlord began to threaten her. This….wasn’t the Jade he remembered, or maybe this  _ was _ the real Jade once you stripped away the stoic exterior. What had Shockwave done to break her. Starscream shivered involuntarily at the thought garnering the attention of the femme in question.

 

“You mentioned something about a name?” Starscream asked before the femme could interrogate him. He really didn’t want to know what Shockwave had done to her, at least not yet.

 

“My name,” she began with a sigh, “is Killshot.” Starscream gave Jade a look as if to say ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’. To Starscream, the name sounded too much like something you’d give a weapon rather than an actual sentient being. Although he didn’t hold humans in the same regard as the Autobots, Starscream wouldn’t disregard the fact that the fleshings were conscious beings. 

 

“Did Shockwave give you that name?” Starscream asked before instantly regretting it. He was certain that the single opticed menace had named Jade that to subconsciously remind her she was no longer human. It hurt Starscream to see the pained look in Jade, now Killshot’s, optics.

 

“No,” Killshot replied. Starscream released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in before the femme continued. “It’s the name I gave myself when I was still a part of GAID.” 

 

“Oh.” Starscream definitely wasn’t expecting that.

 

“Yeah. I never missed a target,” she continued after a short pause.” Shockwave seemed to like that part of me, so that’s the part I got to keep. That’s enough about me though,” Killshot said as she sat down beside the seeker once more. “I have some news that I think you’d like to know about.” Starscream gave Killshot a puzzled look as she continued. “Do you happen to know two seekers named Skywarp and Thundercracker?”

 

***********************************************************************************************************

Optimus and Ratchet fight. Rodimus tries to tell them about bad stuff in space. Alarms go off about Decepticon presence on earth

 

_ My knight? My knight? _

 

_ Yes my dear? _

 

_ Tell me a story. _

 

_ What kind of story do you want to hear? _

 

_ Tell me about the day you found me. What happened to my mother, where is she? _

 

_ You don’t have a mother dear, you have us. We are all you need. _

 

“Ratchet?” 

 

Ratchet had been staring absent-mindedly at the wall for the past thirty minutes. The old medic felt numb. He cared about everyone who was in his care, even mechs like Wheeljack that got under his plating, but this was different. Helena was his little princess and he was her knight. She depended on him for protection and granted him a joy his spark had never experienced before in return. Ratchet had watched the small being grow under his care, he witnessed firsthand how quickly life passed by for human beings. Every day, he was reminded how short his time was with his little princess and made an effort to savour every moment with her before she was gone. 

 

“Ratchet?” Ratchet turned his helm towards the voice that refused to stop calling him and instantly regretted that decision. Optimus Prime stood at the opposite end of a large conference table with Bumblebee and Rodimus Prime flanking his right and left. Ultra Magnus, who was never quite comfortable in dealing with domestic matters, sat awkwardly on the far left side of the table between where Ratchet and Optimus were seated. He twiddled his thumbs idly as the two mechs stared each other down. Ratchet knew that throwing a tantrum wouldn’t bring Helena back- heck he knew that throwing a tantrum wouldn’t do slag for their situation right now- but by Primus if Optimus Prime could throw a fit like he had this morning then so could Ratchet. Someone had to make the Prime pay for what he had done. Optimus didn’t even look guilty from where he stood. He had a blank look in his energon blue optics and his faceplate shielded his feelings even more. Ratchet couldn’t get a read on what was going through Prime’s mind and it was driving him crazy. He had no right to cause all of this distress and then act like the noble leader he  _ should _ have been a hour ago before the seekers took Helena.

 

“Don’t talk to me you piece of slag!”

 

“Ratchet!” This time it was Arcee who called his name. She had been comforting the medic- or at least doing something close to comforting (Arcee was about as good at comforting people as Ultra Magnus was)- since Prime had lost his temper earlier. Ratchet had been a mess since the incident, shaking, sobbing, hyperventilating. Everyone knew that Ratchet adored the human child he had raised, but too see the full extent of his care and witness him break down once she was taken away was too much for the motorcycle to handle. “I know you’re hurting but this isn’t the time.”

 

“Arcee is correct,” Prime interjected. Oh Primus, the slagger had to interject. “If we want to find Helena then-”

 

“We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn’t attacked her!” Ratchet shot up from his seat and pointed an accusative digit at the Prime. Rodimus and Bumblebee bristled at Optimus’ sides, Ultra Magnus twiddled his thumbs faster. “ That’s my child you attacked Optimus, my little princess!”

 

“I raised her too Ratchet.”

 

“Who dropped her off on her first day of school? Or her first day of middle school, or high school, or slumber party, or dance? Who was there for when she was sick, or stressed out, or just needed to vent?”

 

“Our parentage is not a competition Ratchet? I care about her just as much as you do.”

 

“You don’t even care half as much as I do!”

 

“Guys!!!” Optimus and Ratchet whipped their helms towards a very tense Rodimus Prime. The young speedster took in a deep vent and attempted to relax his frame. “ I know that both of you are worried about Helena, but fighting isn’t going to help our situation. Besides, there are issues aside from Helena that need addressing. My crew found weird energy signatures two star systems away from here, energy signatures that are normally found in deep space not near civilized planets. I have Brainstorm and Perceptor running some tests right now on it, we’re not sure if the energy outputs are a form of radiation or what but it needs addressing and it needs to be monitored.I know you’re both in a difficult position right now, but if you two can’t pull yourselves together then I’ll have to assume position as leader of this mission. We can’t have a distracted and temperamental Prime leading us and we definitely can’t have an emotionally stable CMO.” Optimus and Ratchet both looked away from the young prime bashfully. It was never Optimus’ intention to cause his team harm. He wanted to protect his Autobots, his family from the harms and burdens of the war. It was his duty not just as Prime, but also as a person to protect those around him. It seemed as if today, the person his family needed protection from the most was himself. Optimus forced himself to look across the table at Ratchet. The medic was hunched over in his seat, his optics were dim, and his servos were gripped so tightly against his forearms they were making dents. Never in his life had Optimus witnessed Ratchet like this, not since Bumblebee had his voice module removed….not since Smokescreen was attacked. Both of those destructive instances were caused by Megatron. The warlord had done the unimaginable by attacking the younglings in that manner, stooping to a place so low there was no way he could ever recover from it. Optimus had vowed to the himself and the medic that Megatron would pay for his crimes against their friends, but this….this was something entirely new.  _ He _ had caused this. Optimus bowed his helm and closed his optics. ‘I have to make this right’, Optimus thought to himself, ‘for Ratchet’. With a newfound vigor Optimus turned his helm towards the younger prime.

 

“Rodimus, I-”

 

Optimus was cut off by the blaring of several different alarms. Everyone raced out of the conference room towards the main Command Console of the Castle.

 

“What’s going on?” Optimus ran towards Fixit who was currently manning the console.

 

“It’s Decepticons!” The frantic minibot sputtered out. Fixit struggled to remain calm under the blaring alarms and nearly shorted out. Bumblebee took control of the commands while his human friend Denny Clay looked after the frightened minicon.

 

“Optimus look!” Bumblebee cried as he pointed to a series of Decepticon symbols that began to manifest on the screen. “They’re attacking all known Autobot hideouts!”

 

“Ya kindin’ me mech? Hows that possible!?” Jazz shouldered his way to the front of crowd that had formed around the screen.

 

“They must have traced out signals when we all arrived here?” Prowl grumbles as he too made his way to the front of the pack.

 

“If the ‘Cons traced our signals then why aren’t they attacking us right here,” Bulkhead called out. Prowl scratched at his chin for a while, contemplating the infinite number of motives the Decepticons had for leaving the Castle alone and determining which one was most plausible.

 

“Maybe the Decepticons don’t know that we’re here,” Raf pointed out, “it’s possible that due to the encryption services provided by the Castle, the ‘Cons weren’t able to determine the destination of the Autobot signals they detected.”

 

“However,” Graham continued, “ due to that fact that everyone was in a hurry to get here, the Decepticons found a way to track the signals back to their source.”

 

“No.” All heads and helms turned towards the ancient purple warrior who stood towards the back of the crowd. Cyclonus held Tailgate firmly to his chestplates and stroked the minicons helm in a languid motion. There was a sorrowful look on his faceplate as he buried him helm into the crook of the waste disposal’s neck. “That’s not what this is.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Miko yelled from a nearby ledge. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest as she and Verity tried to give the former Decepticon the most intimidating ‘Wrecker’ look they could muster.

 

“Ya got any better ideas of what this is ‘Con,” Verity chimmed in, “ ‘cause if you do man I’d  _ love _ to hear it.”

 

Cyclonus looked up from Tailgate, the fear in his optics was visible to all in the room. “This isn’t a normal Decepticon attack….this is the DJD.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Duh duh duh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yes, the DJD are going to screw over our Autobot and human friends.
> 
> Please comment below, I love your thoughts and opinions.


	8. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DJD, Overlord, and Scavengers arrive. Cody gets kidnapped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long wait. This chapter was so hard for me to write and I still don't like it to be honest. I've been losing steam on this fic but I still have a few more chapters that I wrote beforehand. I'm trying to keep up the momentum but don't be surprised if there is a long hiatus coming up soon.

“We’re the ScavAAAAngers!”

 

“We’re the Scevengers.”

 

“We’re the Scoovengers.”

 

“We are the SCAVANGAS!!!”

 

“I’m Fulcrum.”

 

Megatron gave Soundwave a look no one had ever seen the warlord give the silent mech before: utter disappointment.

 

“Are these people  _ ACTUALLY _ Decepticons?” Megatron couldn’t contain himself as the Scavengers continued to list ways of saying their name. A silent bet was running amongst the Vehicons to see how long it would take before the former gladiator decided to demonstrate his most famous moves on the incompetent mechs. The warlord paced the room back and forth in a weak attempt at not ripping the five mechs to pieces. When he had sent out the message hailing his troops to come to Earth he was informed that some of the best Decepticon soldiers would be arriving on the planet. The Stunticons, the Combaticons, the Constructicons, any of the ‘Cons that were normally associated with the Decepticon insignia, not the SCAVENGERS. These simpletons were a disgrace to the cause. They were absolute buffoons, they were stooges, they were-

 

“Excuse us for the delay my lord, we had some trouble with an asteroid belt!”

 

Megatron thought Primus had entered his prayers when a purple tank saunteered into the room along with five other bots. “Tarn?” Megatron almost didn’t believe his optics.

 

“At your service my lord. The DJD are your humble servants, we await your command.” Tarn and his crew kneeled before Megatron while the fifth Decepticon remained standing. Megatron raised an optic ridge towards the standing mech but ignored the lack of respect. Megatron knew from years of experience that Overlord was unpredictable and preferred carnage over actual servitude.

 

“Your less than punctual arrival is forgiven,” Megatron replied as he regained the authoritative tone to his voice. “Come now, I have big plans for Prime and his soldiers. You must follow all of my instructions diligently if we are to be victorious against the Autobots this day.” 

***********************************************************************************************************

“Everyone, battle stations!” Rodimus Prime cried out over the sea of panicking mechs and humans. “We are raising the castles defences. We won’t go down without a fight!”

 

“A buncha Decepticon DJs are attacking us?” Kade snorted. “I better pull out my mixtape!”

 

“No Kade Burns!” Optimus Prime moved towards where the humans were gathered, he couldn’t help but notice how some of them bristled at his approach. Optimus mentally chastised himself for his earlier outburst, he had worked hard for years to maintain a good relationship with his human allies. He had tainted it when he lashed out at Helena, the act made all the humans remember how fragile they truly were. Optimus sighed and made a mental note to apologize to the humans once they got through this.  “These are not musicians,” Optimus Prime continued. “The DJD are highly trained assassins that are ruthless in their tactics. The DJD despises human beings and all other organics. If the DJD are truly here then we must have you all relocated somewhere you will be safe. I am contacting Agent Fowler to make room for you all at his base, you should be safe there.”

 

“WHERE’S CODY!”

 

A couple of bots stopped dead in their tracks at the terrified face of Chief Charlie Burns. The man usually didn’t raise his voice, causing the unnaturally high pitch to shock his children as well. After examining the room, it became apparent that the blonde-haired teen had not returned to the laboratory.

 

“I don’t see Francine anywhere either,” Chase concluded after scanning the room,” perhaps they are still outside Chi-”

 

“I just came from outside!” Chief Burns interjected. “They aren’t there at all and I can’t track their signals on Cody’s communicator!”

 

“Chief Charles Burns,” Ultra Magnus said, stepping into the conversation. “ I understand why you may want to panic, but for the sake of all that are present I ask that you refrain from doing so. We must act rationally if we are to escape the DJD. I will designate a small group to look for the teens, but I advise you and the rest of the humans to stay here and follow the Prime’s orders.”

 

“Ultra Magnus sir,” Chief Burns forced his voice into a faux calm, “My son is nowhere to be seen and a group of highly trained assassins that despise organics are attacking all known Autobot bases. There’s no way I could possibly sit still knowing that my son is in any form of danger, I need to find him and protect him!”

 

“I’ll help,” Sideswipe volunteered before Ultra Magnus could respond. Sideswipe knelt before the law enforcer although he openly avoided the Chief’s gaze. “I-I’m sorry about earlier. If I hadn’t said anything Cody would be here right now safe with all of you. I want to make things right, I’m here for you Mr.Burns.” Chief Burns gave Sideswipe a warm smile before turning his attention to Optimus Prime.

 

“Please Optimus,” the man pleaded, “he’s my son.” Optimus Prime tipped his helm in confirmation of his request. It went without saying that Optimus would do anything to have Helena with him right now and understood the man’s turmoil. The two bolted out of the castle as the remainder of Team Prime scurried about following various orders. It didn’t take long for Agent Fowler and a small team of NEST agents to arrive to escort the humans off the island. The humans were quickly evacuated as the bots began to divide themselves up into teams. The Rescue Bots, along with Arcee,Grimlock, and Smokescreen returned to Griffon Rock to defend the island and its inhabitants. Ironhide,Prowl, Jazz, and Bulkhead returned to the NEST quarters with the humans while Strongarm, Fixit, Drift, and Wheeljack went to the scrapyard of Crystal City. Ultra Magnus, Whirl, and Tailgate returned to the Lost Light leaving only Rodimus, Cyclonus, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Optimus in the castle.

 

[[What do we do now?]] Bumblebee tried his best not to let his nervousness bleed into his voice but the clicks and chirps came out shakily and were laced with static.

 

“We stand our ground and hope for the best Bee,” Rodimus replied in an authoritative tone that surprised the other bots. Rodimus was well known for his juvenile behaviors, but when it came to protecting those he cared for, the young prime summoned a calm energy that rivaled that of Optimus Prime and affected everyone around him. “The Lost Light will monitor all of our situations and send reinforcements if necessary.”

 

“We must remain on guard,” Cyclonus concurred, “who knows what tricks the DJD may have-”

Cyclonus was interrupted by a static transmission that had appeared on the command module. Ratchet rushed past the group and went to work decoding the signal as the rest of the armored up and prepared or the fight of a lifetime. Ratchet’s digits attacked the module with lightning speed. The longer it took for him to decode the signal, the smaller their chance of survival against the DJD became. After three minutes of deciphering and unscrambling code, Ratchet finally corrected the transmission.

 

“Hello,” came the deep drawl of the DJD’s leader Tarn. The purple tank was seating in a dimly lit room, the contrast of his spark-piercing optics to his surroundings sent chills down the spinal struts of the Autobot team. “This is a recording as I am certain you have surmised by now. I will keep my message short and to the point. Surrender to Lord Megatron now or….”. A small form became visible behind the mech. It was difficult to make out considering the lighting of the room, but once the unconscious form of Cody Burns became clear everyone’s spark sank.

 

“Chief Burns,” Optimus struggled to speak as he opened up his comm link. “I believe we have found your son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a few more chapters ahead that I actually wrote really early on in this fic. I've been waiting so long to get to this moment but I'm honestly not sure if or how I want to continue this fic. I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts and opinions. Please comment below


	9. Shockwave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shockwave's Logs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk about losing steam with a fic. I was really excited when I first started writing this, but I think my original ideas got lost as I tried to do some worldbuilding (something I've never done before) and introduce a slew of characters. Oh well, here's one of the last things I wrote for this fic.

 

 

Shockwave’s Log Cycle 27:

The test subject is still unresponsive to stimulus. Although the brain module is fully functional the rest of the subject's limbs have been rendered useless. It would now be illogical to continue work on Project Freelancer, however, it would also be illogical to waste the brain module of test subject Theta. The most logical course of action would be to salvage test subject Theta’s brain module and use it for work on Project C.O.M. The test subject’s brain module has already endured a series of tests under Project Freelancer, I am thereby led to believe that this subject may succeed. I will commence testing next cycle.

 

 

+++++++++

 

 

Shockwave’s Log Cycle 97:

The test subject is rejecting energon again. Although the parts that were salvaged from fallen Vehicons are fully functional, the human brain within the prototype cannot process our life fuel. Further testing is needed to determine why.

 

 

+++++++

 

 

Shockwave’s Log Cycle 144:

The test subject’s brain module continues to reject energon. I have attempted to connect the human brain module to a Cybertronian frame. The test subject was unresponsive for an extended period of time. After several cerebral prods, the test subject extended a middle digit towards me. Further testing is needed to determine why.

 

 

+++++++

 

 

Shockwave’s Log Cycle 235:

The test subject’s brain module has proven non-functional under excessive electrical stimulus. I will begin the transfer of human brain module to Cybertronian neural net next cycle.

 

 

+++++++

 

 

Shockwave’s Log Cycle 343:

The test subject is responding to stimulus. The test subject is gaining self awareness but has refused to take energon from me. A vehicon must deliver energon to the test subject. Every 3-5 vorns the test subject disgorges all energon they consumed. Further testing is needed to determine why.

 

 

+++++++

 

 

Shockwave’s Log Cycle 478:

The test subject has begun speaking but their sentences are short and lack mental complexity. I will be re-evaluating to structural integrity of the test subject’s neural net next cycle.

 

 

+++++++

 

 

Shockwave’s Log Cycle 521:

The test subject has not spoken to me in two deca-cycles. The test subject responds to all stimulus provided by me with violence. The test subject does not respond to vehicon induced stimulus with violence. Further testing is needed to determine why.

 

 

+++++++

 

 

Shockwave’s Log Cycle 590:

The test subject has successfully completed their first mission objective. The subject, however, refused to debrief me and instead opted to debrief one of the vehicons overseeing their development. I questioned their behavior and the test subject responded in an unsatisfactory manner. The test subject was severely punished.

 

 

+++++++

 

 

Shockwave’s Log Cycle 626:

The test subject has successfully completed their second mission objective. The subject, once again, refused to debrief me and instead debriefed a vehicon overseeing their development. I once again questioned their behavior and the subject responded in an….unexpected manner. Please see File 38-B for details.

 

 

++++++

 

 

Shockwave’s Log Cycle 658:

The test subject has completed their third mission objective and has successfully debriefed me. I offered the test subject an energon cube as compensation. They refused. No further testing is needed to determine why.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah it's short, but it was still fun to write.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment.


End file.
